E67: Defense Tech’s Rise with 8VC’s Alex Kolicich

This week on Turpentine VC, we’re releasing Sourcery’s Molly O'Shea’s interview with Alex Kolicich, founding partner at 8VC to discuss Alex's H1 2024 report on the venture landscape, covering AI investment challenges, the resurgence of defense technology, and broader economic trends impacting markets. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/3f9d98f9-c3d6-42c9-b2cc-e6ba32c668e4 

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LINKS:

8vc: https://www.8vc.com/

Alex’s Substack: https://www.alexkolicich.com/ 

Alex’s first appearance on Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/p/exclusive-alex-kolicich-8vc-exodus 

Alex’s latest H1 2024 report: https://www.sourcery.vc/p/alex-kolicich-8vc-ai-and-defense 

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FOLLOW:

@AlexKolicich

@MollySOShea

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:59) Meet Alex Kolicich

(01:50) Diving into the H1 2024 venture landscape report

(02:03) The AI investment paradox

(03:31) Challenges and opportunities in AI

(07:25) Public vs. private market dynamics

(08:24) The role of AI in software and market valuations

(12:32) Fundraising strategies in the AI era

(13:01) Sponsors: Carta | Oracle

(19:12) AI capabilities and the future of technology

(25:58) The Gartner hype cycle and AI's future

(28:08) AI market trends and valuations

(29:00) The exit environment and acquihires

(29:28) Challenges in IPOs and M&A

(32:03) Opportunities in secondaries

(32:52) Sponsor: Squad

(33:58) Defense wave: A new frontier

(43:52) Changes in defense procurement

(49:31) Advice for defense startups

(52:09) Reflections on AI and market surprises

(55:32) Wrap